Grey's Anatomy (2005–…): Season 6, Episode 9 - New History - full transcript

When Owen recruits his fellow Iraqi War vet, Dr. Teddy Altman, as the new cardiothoracic surgeon, Cristina questions Teddy's abilities in the OR and the nature of their past relationship. ...

But as hard as we try to move forward...

as tempting as it is to never look back...

the past always comes back
to bite us in the ass.

Meredith. Hey.

Thanks for meeting me down here.
Are you okay? Where have you been?

I'm fine. I've been in Chehalis with my mom.

This is not Chehalis. Where the hell are we?
We're in Seattle, Dr. Singer.

And this is Dr. Grey, my friend.
This is Dr. Singer.

He was my high school science
teacher... a brilliant man.

He really fought for me and he's
the reason I became a surgeon.

I appreciate your taking
the time to see us, Dr. Grey,



But I promised Isobel's algebra II teacher

that I'd have her back in time for fifth period.
I'm confused.

So is he. The nursing home
diagnosed him with Alzheimer's.

But he's been falling a lot lately,

and I think he could have a bleed.
Well, he's wearing pajamas
and an overcoat.

What did you do, sneak him out
in the middle of the night?
No.

Early this morning.
You kidnapped him?

Can you please just... can you
sneak him in to see Derek?

Put him on the schedule, please.
Izzie, you've been in Chehalis
this whole time,

and the only reason
you came back is to bring

a confused, sickly man for Derek to look at?
Yes.

Ow! Ow! Stop hitting me.

We were worried about you.
I was worried about you.

Look, please, can you please
just get him in to see derek?



I'll be back later.
I'll be back, okay?

No, you cannot leave him here.
I'm not going in there.

You need to let Alex know you're okay.

I am not going in there.
Oh, yes, you're going in. So he
got you pregnant. So what?

You're pregnant?
No. He thinks I'm 15 years old.

Right. Right.
So you're gonna go right into that school

and show those cheerleaders

that you have nothing to be ashamed of.

Those little bitches are poisonous.

And as history shows us again and again,

those who forget the past
are doomed to repeat it.

Cristina.

Dr. Yang.

Dr. Avery.

Look, okay, about the kiss...

Kiss, what kiss?
There was no kiss.

I don't know what you're talking about.

So do you have a boyfriend or...
Never gonna happen.

Got it. Thanks.

Hey, you paged us.

Oh, I paged you.
One second, Dr. Avery.

Um, I know you think
I don't understand you,

so I got you a present.

Come on. Come on.
I don't want to lose him.

All right. What do we got?
Fine v-fib. Paddles.

You got me a cardiac trauma.

I didn't just get you a cardiac trauma.

I got you a cardio God, uh, uh, or goddess.

Saline. Lock and load to 50.

Clear.

Nothing.

Come on. Come on!

Nice to meet you. Jackson Avery.
Teddy Altman.

Teddy Altman. I...
I've never heard of you.

Cristina Yang. I... I've never
heard of you either.

So I guess that makes us even.

Teddy and I, we served in Iraq together,

and she's gonna be joining us for a little while.

Okay. Come on, I'll introduce you to the chief.

Oh, great. You look good.
Oh, thanks.

You know, you've put on a little weight.
I have not.

You have, too.
I have not.

Who the hell is she?

Go to the pacu and write the post-op note

on Mrs. Murdoch.
Hey.

Hey, thanks.
Do you want me to page you
if there are any complications?

The chief of surgery, Dr. Richard Webber?
Yes.

Miranda, there you are.
Adele.

Uh, you all right? Is everything okay?
Richard didn't come home last night,

and he didn't call.

Tell me he's not lying
somewhere in a ditch dead.

Okay, uh, the last time I saw him was, um,

last night in his office.
He was working on the budget.

So why didn't he answer
his pager or his cell phone?

Okay, well, hold on, hold on.

And why doesn't anybody in this hospital

know where the chief of surgery is?

Dr. Bailey. Have you seen the chief?

One of his patients
needs an emergency chole.

Okay, I'm on it. Uh, you
go ahead and prep the patient.

You get yourself a cup of coffee... decaf.

I will find the chief.

So you're an evolutionary biologist?

Mm. I was. I was part of a research team...

On my way to the Galápagos Islands,

and suddenly, my father died.

And, uh, of course I had to go home.

Next thing I know, I'm back in Chehalis,

marrying my high school sweetheart

And teaching biology to kids who
would rather be anywhere else.
Mm-hmm.

I hear you're
an excellent teacher.
Isobel is
an excellent student.

She's gonna be
a doctor herself someday...
(chuckles)

If she doesn't get
too distracted.

Hmm.

Well, everything looks good, Dr. Singer.

What we're gonna do is, uh, take some blood...
Ouch.

And run some tests. Okay?
Okay.

All right. Stevens.

How long has he been like this?
Um, I talked to him at Christmas,

and he was fine. He was still teaching.

The school only let him go six months ago.

Is he on any medication?
He's on every medication... Alzheimer's meds,

Parkinson's meds, antidepressants.
What was his diagnosis?

Dementia. The guy was useless.
He might as well

have just said old age. It's possible.

He's 67. Andf he fell and hit his head,

he could have an intracranial bleed,

and no one would know about it.

His wife is dead. He has no kids, so...
Where the hell have you been?!

You missed your I.L.-2 appointment.
You told Cristina I was here?
Mer, who else did you tell?

Well, well, well. Look who's back.
This guy?

You told the guy that got me fired?
I didn't tell him. I don't even know him.

It's my first day back.
Dr. Percy's on my service today.

Oh.
And I didn't get you fired.
You did that all by yourself.

Dr. Percy, Dr. Singer needs
a full dementia work-up.

Dr. Stevens will give you the details.

I wish Dr. Stevens would give me the details.

But I'm just the person who saved her life.

Okay. Do you know, if you miss
another I.L.-2 treatment...

I got my I.L.-2 treatment at Seattle Pres.

I may not be a doctor here anymore,

but I'm not a complete idiot.
Iz.

You heard from Xasella?

Yeah, I heard he took another tour.

I'm sorry. Where were you
before, Dr. Altman?

In Baghdad with Dr. Hunt.
Oh, no. I mean before that.

Where did you do your fellowship?
At Mayo.

Oh, with Paul Moak?
No, Moak is in rochester.

I worked primarily with joshua moore.
Oh, you were at mayo in florida.

Moore wrote that paper

on retrograde coronary
sinus perfusion, right?

Yeah. I actually worked on that with him.

Dr. Yang is, uh, a little thorough.
U.T. Southwestern.

And then I did my residency at g.W.
Well, I mean, have you published?

'Cause according to Google,
I mean, you don't exist.

Oh, my God.
It's raining.

Yeah, it's Seattle. It rains a lot.

Whoo! Hunt, how awesome is this?

Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!

She's been living in the desert
for a long time.

Ooh.

That is not a cardio God.

She's an incredible surgeon.

This is great.

So what's your story?

There's no story. We're friends.

How long is she here for?
Well, the chief offered her
a limited contract

to test the waters.

Look, you know, I really
appreciate the gift. Really, I do.

But you need to take it back.

Cristina..

You need to take it back and exchange it

for a real cardio God.

Just give her a chance.

I promise. She's gonna surprise you.

Grab this one.

I guess you do have a boyfriend.

Are those his test resul let me see them.

If you were a doctor here, I could.

They're normal, all of them.

Blood work, C.T....
All normal. We need to do a spinal tap.

He could have a subarachnoid hemorrhage.
What...

Did you think if you made
some great neuro save,

Shepherd would give you your job back?

I'm not here to get my job back.
Hello?

Hello? Hello?
Good. 'cause it's not gonna happen.

Dr. Singer...

Hello? Can someone...
I'm here. I'm here.

Ooh, what's happening? What's happening?

No, no. One minute, I'm in class, and then...

And then the next minute, I'm...
You're here at Seattle Grace
hospital, remember?

I brought... I am not! No, I'm not.

Yes. No, I brought you here,
remember?
No, it's not possible.

No, no, no, Dr. Singer, please...
I have a class. It's late.
What time is it?

Please come back to bed.
Please come back to bed.
No, no! Let me go!

Dr. Singer! Oh, my God. Dr. Singer.

What's happening to me?

Chief!
Oh!

What do we got?!
An emergency chole,

a new cardio attending,

and your wife is here to see you.

What?

You in trouble. Drink your latte.

He needs a spinal tap.

He's fallen and could've
burst an aneurysm,

and some bleeds show up on a
spinal tap that don't on a C.T.

And some doctors
enjoy torturing patients

because they've messed up and don't know

what they're gonna do
with the rest of their lives.

You are the one that got me fired.

You owe me this, you little bitch.

Unless, of course, you want me to find

that snotty reed what's her name

and tell her how much you
love her, 'cause I will.

Sick sinus syndrome.
She needs a temporary ansvenous

pacemaker now.
Dr. Yang, do you want to take this
one? I haven't done one of these

in ten years.
Excuse me?

I do.
Great, it's all yours.

Wait. Uh, you don't remember how to or...
I've been working primarily
on soldiers, Dr. Yang,

most of whom are well under the age of 70.

Use the right I.J., Dr. Avery.

It'll give you the most direct approach.

Dr. Altman, will you excuse
me just for a moment?

I... I just need to talk to
the chief about something.

She has been staying
with her mom in Chehalis.

Don't know how long
she's staying, if she's staying.

She has been keeping up with her I.L.-2.

That much I do know.

That's all I know.

I was up till all hours
working on the budget.

And by the time you realized what time it was,

it was too late to call and let Adele know

you were going to sleep here,

which is what I will tell her
while you're in surgery.
Oh, thank you, Bailey.

Chief.
Now is not the time, Yang.
The chief has emergency surgery.

The chief has an emergency cardio situation.

The new attending doesn't even
know how to put in

a temmporary pacemaker.
Yang...

Do not engage. Did you
or did you not ask this man

for a new cardio attending?
Yes, but...

and did he or did he not bring
in attending after attending,

none of whom seem to please you
and all of whom you ran off?

That is not a fair assessment.
Dr. Yang, has it ever occurred to you

that you might be the problem?

R... right. Leave this man alone.
Go torture the new attending.

Sir...
Yang, do as Bailey says.

D you are due in surgery.

Bailey, what would I do without you?

Let's hope you never have to find out.

Hey, is your trauma patient stable for skin grafting?
The one with the pancreatic duct rupture.

Miranda.
Oh, Adele.

Oh, I'm so sorry. I sent
the chief into surgery.

Do you want me to...
What I want

is for you to tell me the truth.

I saw the way
you handled him just now.

I did not handle him. I j...

There was no handle... we work together.

You spend every waking moment together.

You finish each other's sentences.

You read each other's minds.

You're more married to that man than I am.

Yeah, but that's just because
they're husband and work-wife.

Excuse me?
The chief's your work-husband,
and you're his work-wife.

You look out for each other.
You take care of each other.

There's nothing wrong with it.
It's like me and Sloan.
Excuse me?

Nobody's talking to you.
He's my work-husband,

but he has a girlfriend,
and I have a girlfriend,

but there's nothing going on between us.
I mean, there was at one point...

You're not helping. Neither
one of you are helping.

Adele, I promise you, there is nothing going on.
Something is going on,

because he hasn't been in his bed all week.
What?

Really?

The last time he acted like this... disappearing,

sleeping at the hospital every night...

He was with Ellis Grey.

He may not be having an affair with you...

He's not. I promise you.
I promise you, he's not.

Okay.

But wife-wife to work-wife,

someone is this hospital
is sleeping with our husband.

How are we doing, Dr. Yang?

Gary Clark, 57, S.T. elevation
in leads 1 through 4.

Which would indicate?
Anterior heart attack.

Probably a blockage in the L.A.D.

He's ready for an angioplasty.
All right. Talk me through the procedure.

Because you don't remember how?
No, that was actually
a teaching moment.

Access the femoral artery,

thread the catheter to the heart,

inject dye, then open up the blockage.

Good. Make sure you use the pigtail catheter

to get a good... like this one?

Huh.

Look at that. Dr. Avery,
what can we infer from this?

He's got wall motion abnormalities.
Yes, in the left ventricular wall.

Okay, let's get into the left coronary tree.

Already there.

Oh.

O... okay, um... Well,
you want to make sure

that you get images in many planes,
so you're gonna have to shift the fluor

Oh, well, we use a
rotational angiography.

It does that on its own.

Huh. Look at that.

I guess I'm the one who
learned something today.

Yeah. Look at that.

Chief.

Uh-huh.

Okay, I, uh, I understand, you're under

a tremendous amount
of pressure right now

and that you haven't been able
to spend time at home...

and that a man in your position

has certain...

needs...

and that, uh, when a man

is as powerful and as attractive as you are,

those needs might easily be met by...

Dr. Bailey.
Yeah, sir.

Are you hitting on me?

Your wife just showed up here

asking me if you and I
were having an affair.

Well, you know... I... I don't want
to know anything about anything.

What you do with your business
is your business.

And I was not hitting on you.

Understood.

Mm-hmm.

Dr. Percy is almost done

getting the spinal fluid sample he needs.

Yeah, not that I had any choice.
That makes two of us.

You're doing great. He's almost done.
So what's going on with you and Karev?

Have you even talked to him?

How is that any of your business?

It's everybody's business.

It's all anybody talks about around here.

Stevens and Karev... have they
talked, are they talking?

So are you?

That's it. You're all done.

Just need you to lie flat for a while, okay?

See? That wasn't so bad, was it?
So this Karev...

He's the boy, the one who got you in trouble?

Well, he didn't help matters much.

Did he propose?

Well, whatever you do,

don't marry him, because if you do

and you have this child,
you'll never become a surgeon.

You'll probably never even
make it out of Chehalis.

What you will do, though,
is you'll end up angry

and frustrated and, uh... alone.

You gotta do what's good for you.

And if this boy really cares
for you, he'll understand.

How'd you find me here?

The nurses love me.

They're my spies, and they're pissed

that you're desterilizing
all their equipment.

What else was I supposed to do?

I haven't been able to get
on a surgery all day.

Before I left, there were
five people to compete with,

and now there are 25.
You'll get in the O.R. soon enough.

You know, there was a moment
for, like five seconds...

when hit-by-a-bus guy wasn't George

and Izzie had just come through surgery...

you and I had just done our post-it...

it was, like, five seconds,
when everybody was happy.

I keep closing my eyes
trying to get back to that.

Here. Turn around.

Close your eyes.

One...

Two...

Three...

Four...

Five.

How was that?

Almost perfect.

Five almost-perfect seconds.

Call me when you want
five more, okay?

Stevens.

Results of the spinal tap.

They're normal.

Damn it.

I'm sorry for wasting your time.

Dr. Singer?

Isobel?

Isobel Stevens?

Oh, my God. Look at you... all grown up.

I am?

What... what am I doing here?
Why am I in my pajamas?

Is something... is there
something wrong with me, Isobel?

He's lucid.

Go page Shepherd.

Dr. Bailey. Dr. Bailey, do you mind

if I scrub in on the chief's ileostomy?

Yes, I do mind. That man is
old enough to be your father.

Dr. Bailey, have you seen the chief?

No. Unh-unh. You don't need
to be seeing the chief,

either one of you.
Okay, but there's something wrong

with his emergency chole patient.

Ok... so you tell me, and I'll tell the chief.

What's wrong with him?

He's yellow.

Oh.

This is the yellowest man
that I have ever seen.

Right? He's, like, lemon yellow.

Like mustard yellow.
Hey, hey, we get it. He's yellow.

I'm trying to find out why.

Ultrasound shows... dilated ducts.

Which means obstructive jaundice,

but the chief only
took out the gallbladder.

And we never saw any signs of
liver disease or cancers, but...

could that mean...

that the chief accidentally
clipped the common bile duct?
Oh, my God.

Okay, okay, stop...
Right now, both of you.

Now did you actually see

the chief clip the common bile duct?
No, of course not. But...

But nothing. That's one of
the most serious mistakes

a general surgeon can make,

so let's not make this accusation lightly.

It wasn't an accusation...
Uh, stop talking.

Just get an E.R.P. To find the exact cause

of this man's discoloration.

And, doctors, if I find out that either of you

has said a word about this to anyone,

I will make sure that you are the ones

who require emergency surgery.

You have a condition called N.P.H....

normal pressure hydrocephalus.

It's a buildup

of cerebrospinal fluid in your brain.

Very hard to, uh, diagnose,
but tnks to Dr. Percy here...

The spinal tap removed some of the fluid,

Relieving the pressure in your
brain, resolving your symptoms,

which is how we came to your diagnosis.
Hmm.

Hmm. Dr. Shepherd wants to
put in a permanent shunt.

It'll drain the excess fluid to your abdomen, so...

Oh, that... that sounds like major surgery.
No.

It's 45 minutes. It's a very common procedure.

I do it all the time.

Mm-hmm. Well, I don't think
I could afford it.

My savings, my retirement, uh,

it all went to my late wife's medical care.

So, uh...

What do I do?

Dr. Shepherd.

Stevens.

I hate to even ask this of you

after everything you've done for me,

but is there any way
Dr. Singer's surgery

could be pro bono?

Look, if you get the chief to sign off this,

I'd be happy to donate my time.

You don't think it's Bailey?

No.

Really? I kinda like them together.

It's not Yang, is it?
What are you guys talking about?

Oh, you haven't heard.
The chief's having an...
Mark, you are a terrible gossip.

I'm an excellent gossip.
Hey, mind if we join you?

No, have a seat.
Mnh-mnh. Not at all.

How's your first day going?

You ready to go back to Baghdad yet?

I'm actually really impressed...

the facility, the equipment,
the caliber of the residents.

Have you met Cristina Yang yet?
Mm. Cristina Yang

may in fact be the best
resident I've ever seen.

You think?
Yeah, I do.

I don't think she likes me, but yeah.
Ooh. She doesn't like you?

Mark.
No, you're probably right.

Just because Yang drove off

the last three cardio attendings doesn't mean...
She did not.

Burke?
Come on, that was...
Hahn?

She had nothing to do with hahn leaving.

Nope, that was me.
Dixon?

Cristina just needs
a strong cardio attending,

and she deserves a
strong cardio attending.

Cristina? Huh.

Wow.

So... so you and Yang?

What happened to you and Beth?
Oh, he didn't tell you?

Beth showed up at the hospital one day.

She didn't even know he was... ow!

Did you just kick me?

That was me.
Mmm.

So... wait. Wait. When you called me up

and you told me about this great job

at this great hospital,

you... you were just
bringing me out here

as... as a... as a present
for your new girlfriend?

I... it is a great job with great people,

one of whom... just happens to be...

Yeah, yeah, mm-hmm.
That's okay. I'm not mad.

I'm just gonna enjoy all
the ways that you're gonna

have to make it up to me.
Okay.

So how do you like your present?

Oh, private Benjamin over there?

Owen said she would surprise
me. Well, guess what.

Surprise! She doesn't know how to do surgery.

Leave her alone. It's her first day.

Why are you defending her?
She went to state school.
So did I.

Well, she's skinny and blonde.

So's mer.

Well, she's annoying.

So are you.

Where is your wife, by the way?

I... what did you say to Owen?

Oh, that she's gotta go.

I mean, he knows how
important this is to me.

I need someone who's gonna
take me to the next level.

And he brings me, like,
this desert storm Barbie

who hasn't seen the inside
of an O.R. in, like, ten years?

I mean, if this is what
he thinks of my talent,

then I'm... I... I gotta break up with him.

Have you even talked to Izzie yet

I mean, has anyone talked to her?
You know what? No one's allowed
to talk about Izzie while I eat.

Am I the only one concerned here?

What?
It's my first day back.

I just wanted to have a nice,
normal lunch together.

Oh, yeah? Well, take a look around.

Nothing's normal.

It's a 45-minute surgery.

It's a $10,000-surgery.

And this hospital has a pro-bono budget.

You are no longer
a doctor here, Stevens.

And you have no right to come in here

and commandeer a clinic,
a neurosurgeon and a resident.

I gave you $8 million to build that clinic

that you happily accepted at the time.

So I have no problem going to the board

or the press if I have to

to get Dr. Singer the surgery he needs.

Ahere'd you work with Jordan Hamlin?

God. She's been at Stanford forever.

Yeah, Jordan Hamlin and I were bunkmates

at camp Taka-Toka when we were 11.

That girl can make a mean lanyard.

You guys paged me. What going on?
Uh, this is Casey, age 8,

asthmatic, uh, nebs at home
haven't been working.

We added steroids, but he's
still having trouble breathing.
Casey, I'm Dr. Robbins.

I'm gonna take a look at
your x-rays. You mind?

No, go ahead.

Hey, Casey. I'm just gonna take a listen.

Dr. Altman, are you...

Trying to concentrate, Dr. Yang.

Has Casey had any other medical issues?

A febrile seizure at 3 months.

Okay. Can you sit up for me?

And did he scream a lot
when you brought him home

from the hospital?
Yes.

And has his asthma

gotten better or worse as he's gotten older?
Worse.

Okay. Thanks.

Book an O.R.

What? Why?

Because I said so. But he has asthma.

Cardiac asthma, Dr. Yang.
And you know that because?

Because that seizure that
he had? It wasn't from a fever.

He had a heart attack then
and he's having one now.

So you're gonna book an O.R.
Because I'm your attending,

and when I tell you to book
an O.R., book an O.R.

I like her.

I'm going to say a name,

and then you are going to tell me

you are not having an affair with her.

Izzie Stevens.

What?

What? That's why you ignored the D.N.R.

That's why you fired her.

That's why the two of you

were in your office
screaming at each other...

just... it is not funny, chief.

That girl has cancer

and a husband and...

Okay. Yeah, I know, it's none of my business,

but it's now affecting people's lives,

patient's lives.

What's this?

It's the E.R.C.P. results

of your emergency chole this morning.

It seems that you may have
accidentally clipped

the common bile duct.

How's the patient?

Stable, for now.

I told Grey and Adamson

to prep him for a repair,

which I'm happy to do

if you don't feel...

Look, we caught it early enough that,

if we can repair the duct,

there should be no long-term damage.

Good.

No one knows about this, sir.

And no one's going to know.

But whatever it is that's distracting you...

whoever or whatever it is...

I just hope you get a handle on it soon.

The birds on your scrub cap are cute.

Thank you.

Is he on full bypass?
Yes.

See the anatomy here?

The coronary artery

is attached to the pulmonary
artery not the aorta.

It presented as asthma, but it's alcapa.
How did you know?

I mean, you only listened to him

and asked his mom a couple of questions.
I saw some cardiomegaly on his x-rays.

And I heard a holosystolic
murmur through his wheezing.

You'll know for next time.

And after today, Dr. Yang,

you'll know how to fix it.

Me? I...

I thought you and Dr. Robbins were...

Dr. Robbins, do you mind
if Dr. Yang first assists?

Not at all.

Uh...

Maybe we'll both learn something today.

The guy Izzie brought in has N.P.H.

Derek's operating now.

I snuck her into the gallery
so she can watch.

So if you want to go talk to her...

Okay?

Just explain her to me, okay?

Because I don't get it. I don't get her.

And I do? I'm like you.

She's all bright and shiny,

even after everything she's been through.

I don't get it. But you're
the one who married her.

So you're the one who has to figure it out.

I can't solve everything.

I lost the better part of my liver

trying to solve everything.

If you want an explanation,
you have to go talk to Iz.

Okay. Here we go. The moment of truth.

Let's see Dr. Yang's handiwork.

That's v-fib on the monitor.
Thank you for that update.

All right,

the bleeding's behind the coronary
artery anastomosis. My anastomosis.

What did I do?
Right now it doesn't matter what
you did. What matters is,

what are you going to do to fix it?
Uh...

Feel free to jump in here at anytime.
You can do this. Tell me what you want to do.

I want to defibrillate.

Then defibrillate.

I'll unclamp.

Okay, charge to 20.

Clear.

Nice.

Now... I want you to keep
your eyes on the field

and do exactly as I say.

We're gonna try to fix this
with rearresting the heart.

Are you with me?
Yes.

Good. All right. You need to apply a suture

proximally and distally.
Mm-hmm.

Good. Dr. Avery, are you watching this?

There will be a quiz afterward.

Believe me, I'm watching.

Good.

So are you back or...

Oh, did you want me to come back?

Because you told the chief

you had serious doubts
about my abilities to be here.

What?
You went behind my back

and told the chief
I wasn't ready to be here.

He was making cuts. I was protecting you.

You got me fired, Alex.
Is that what you think?

This job was the one thing I had left.

The one thing... and you took that away from me.

You interfered and got me fired.

I have forgiven you for a lot, Alex.

I've had to forgive you for a lot.

But I cannot forgive you for this.

You made an assumption.

You decided I did something.

You didn't ask.

You didn't hang around to talk.

I am your husband,

and you didn't give me
the benefit of the doubt.

So you know what?

I can't forgive you either.

Chief, you all right?

You did the repair?

Yeah. No complications.

We're hoping for a full recovery.

And, uh, like I said... nobody knows.

I'm not having an affair.

Well, what is it, then?

I... is it the merger?

Is it Jennings and the board
or you and Shepherd?

'Cause, well, your wife is right.

There's something going on.

I've decided to take
a step back from surgery

for a while.

Now there's no reason for that.

I've got enough on my plate as chief.

And I can't afford another mistake.

So I'd like you to take over my surgeries

for the time being...
Chief...

If you don't mind.

How's the patient doing?

Mm. Perfect.

It's like someone
just switched the lights on.

Dr. Shepherd said you did great.

So we can get you home to Chehalis,

get you out of that nursing home.

I bet you could even go back
to teaching if you want.
Are you crazy?

I'm never going back to those
sex-crazed, teenage alcoholics.

No way.
Okay.

What are you gonna do then?
I don't know.

But... thanks to you, I have, uh,

a few more mental faculties
to figure it out with.

How about you?

I don't know yet either.

You're still my best student.

Let's get you home.

Guess what I did today.

Well, whatever it was, it had to be better

than getting your surgeries
stolen by Mercy West residents.

It was. I did a takeuchi repair.

You did not.

Uh, not all by myself,

but Altman did let me do the
coronary artery anastomosis.

Wow. Maybe she is a cardio God.

Yeah, I know.

Here are tomorrow's surgeries.

We can go over them in the morning.

What, uh, what's going on?

Uh, the chief's taking some time off

from surgery for a while.
Because he's having an affair?

Because of the merger.

He's not having an affair.

He's exhausted.

Now I've lost my work-husband
and my husband-husband.

So I'll be your work-husband.
You already have Sloan.

Oh, yeah, that's true.
Oh, what about Shepherd?

Are you kidding? With all that hair?

I can't be looking at that all day.

Hey.

Hey.

So...

Mm-hmm.

Cristina Yang.

Yeah. I...

I probably should've told you.

But I... I just didn't want to bias you.

You know, I didn't want you
to favor her for me. I...

I just wanted her to stand on her own talent.

When'd you break up, uh, with Beth?

Um... Well, I...

I don't know. That was a while back.

I thought you would call me.

Oh, God.

Wh...

I... I guess it really was all in my head.

Oh, my God.

What? What was in your head?

Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. I just...

I... I... I always thought that
if you and Beth ever broke up,

that I... I...

I just... I thought that you would call me.

Teddy...

It's okay, Owen.

It's okay.

I clearly...

Made up this whole story.

I mean, it was... it was a good story.

It was all tortured and...

"bridges of Dison County," and I...

It's all right.

I, uh, now I know,

and... I can, um...

I can let that story go.

Good night.

Hey.

Mwah!

Thank you for my present.

And I'll try to get over
the birds on the scrub cap.

You know, Teddy's best friend, she...

she was a bird person. She loved birds.

Yeah?

And, um...

well, she died in the second tower.

And that's why Teddy gave up

her attending position at Xolumbia,

and she joined the army.

I told you she'd... surprise you.

Thank you.

Sometimes the past is something
you just can't let go of.

I think she'll be back.

And sometimes the past is something

we'll do anything to forget.

You want to keep drinking?

Another club soda, Joe.

Are you goin' home after this
or back to the hospital?

Another club soda, then home.

I'm gonna need your keys.

I'll call you a cab when you're ready.

Richard's not talking to me.

What? Why?
I don't know. He's just not himself.

You been drunk for a few days.
I was drunk for years.
Wat happened to you?

Excuse me?
There was a time you would've
convinced me to do this surgery,

but now your first instinct is no.

What happened to you?

For every miscalculation
you think you see,

there have been a hundred things

that I have gotten right,
and no one knows.

There's no one who understands
and cares more

about Seattle Grace than...

I'm still the chief of surgery at this hospital!
Then start acting like it.

You have a disease, Thatcher.

When you're in it, you can't stop.
That has been the system

that has been in place since this merger...

Your system.
You're fired. Immediately.

Get the hell outta my hospital.

Please don't do this to me.

I don't have anything left. Please.

It seems that you may have

accidentally clipped the common bile duct.

And sometimes

we learn something new about the past...

that changes everything we know...

about the present.